Electrical power connectors, in contrast to more miniaturized electronic connectors, include a rather substantial blade contact mateable with a female contact terminal mounted in an insulative housing containing one or more of the mateable female terminals. Such connectors are used in a wide variety of applications or environments, such as in the appliance, automotive, computer and like industries wherein an apparatus is coupled to a main power source.
There seems to be a never ending desire to design power connectors of the character described which are both very cost-effective and extremely reliable, these two parameters often being conflicting in nature. In other words, without any limitation on costs, it is not too difficult to design a power connector which is very reliable and can withstand countless connections and disconnections. Conversely, rather inexpensive power connectors easily can be designed but which often have much to be desired as to their reliability. The costs of such connectors often revolve around manufacture and/or assembly considerations. For instance, reliable connectors can be designed with a multiplicity of rigidifying components but the manufacture of such multi-component connectors is expensive.
This invention is directed to solving these dilemmas and to providing an electrical power connector which is extremely simple to manufacture, which facilitates easy assembly of the terminals into the housing of the connector, which employs a minimum of parts, and which provides a very reliable and secure connector construction.